Hosta plantaginea -- `White Margin` variety

ABSTRACT

A variety of Hosta plantaginea having leaves with a white margin.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The new variety of Hosta is a tissue culture derived sport of thespecies Hosta plantaginea. I originally discovered the plant in acultivated state as a sectorial chimera in some test tubes of tissuecultured Hosta plantaginea at a nursery in Zeeland, Mich. The plant,with its novel white variegation, has been produced in a stablepericlinal form. The new variety is hereby named the `White Margin`variety and is sold under the "White Shoulders" trademark.

A sexual propagation of the new cultivar by tissue culture as well as byrhizome division in a nursery in Zeeland, Mich., has conclusively shownthat all characteristic and distinguishing features of the cultivar arefaithfully transmitted or passed from one generation to the next by suchmeans, and that the cultivar is stable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is illustrated in the attached photographic drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows the plant with a leaf having a narrow, white margin; and

FIG. 2 shows the plant with a leaf having a wider, white margin.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The species Hosta plantaginea is a densely rhizomatous herbaceousperennial with a short subterranean stem and has petioled, tuftedleaves. The glossy surfaced leaves are ovate to cordate-ovate and havenine (9) to eleven (11) vein pairs. Leaf dimensions are approximatelynine and one-half (91/2) inches to ten (10)inches long and six andone-half (61/2) inches to seven (7) inches wide. Foliage height isapproximately twenty (20) inches to twenty-four (24) inches and bearstwenty-six (26) to thirty (30) white fragrant funnelform flowers, eachthree (3) to five (5) inches long, on a thirty (30) inch capitate racemeor rarely panicle. The dimensions and flower number are dependent onenvironmental conditions and cultural practices, and therefore may beslightly greater or smaller. In Michigan, the plant blooms frommid-August to mid-September.

The species Hosta plantaginea is quite uniform in appearance and doesnot have a large number of varieties or subspecies. The principal formof the plant is generally known by the species name Hosta plantaginea.Some variants that have been developed have been given distinct varietynames. There appear to be two forms of the principal specie that iscalled Hosta plantaginea. These appear the same and are differentiatedonly by the size of the flower. One size is considered to be the normalor average form and the other is considered to be larger than normal.The present invention was derived from the normal form of the speciesknown as Hosta plantaginea.

Hosta plantaginea is one of only two species of this genus that arenative to, and only to, the mainland of China. The other species, Hostaventricosa, flowers much before Hosta plantaginea, thus preventing anylikelihood of interspecific cross pollination. All other speciesdiscovered to data have come from either the islands of Japan or a fewfrom those of Korea. Being so geographically isolated, an intrabreedingspecies population will tend to become more identical.

Hosta plantaginea also has many traits consistent with a plant of atetraploid nature (having twice the normal compliment of chromosomes). Anatural doubling of the chromosomes would tend to produce a morehomozygous population resulting in nearly identical appearingindividuals.

The new variety has the characteristics of the original species but isdistinctive from the original species in one main characteristic. Theplant has basally-tufted, glossy surfaced leaves with a lightervariegated margin. The margin of each leaf has an irregular laceratedpattern frequently protruding toward the mid-rib. In areas where themargin tissue folds over the center green tissue an intermediate colorresults.

The colors of the plant have been determined by referral to the R.H.S.Colour Chart published by The Royal Horticultural Society of London. Theintermediate color is a light pea-green, between Royal HorticulturalSociety Horticultural color chart Number 61/2 and 61/3. The marginemerges in the spring as a Dresden Yellow 64/3 and gradually lightens towhite as the season progresses. The center of the leaf can be as lightas a lettuce green 860 in nearly full sun in Michigan or as dark asbetween Scheeles Green 860/1 to Spinach Green 096/01 in deep shade andwith good nutrition. The width of the margin varies with maturity fromas narrow as one-sixteenth (1/16) inch to as much as three-quarters(3/4) of an inch or more when mature. Environmental conditions, culturalpractices and rate of growth also affect the extent, color, and width ofthe margin.

The growth of Hosta `White Margin` is essentially the same as that ofthe parent variety of Hosta plantaginea species. The plant grows muchbetter with ample water, but an established plant can withstand somebrief periods of drought. Flowering is more prolific with more sun, butit produces ideal growth in Zeeland, Mich. with a few hours of lightshade during the hottest part of the day. The plant is resistant to mostmajor disease problems. The rhizomes survive sub-zero temperatures, butthe foliage is not frost hard and can be affected by late spring frosts.

The variegation is a mutation of the outer layer of the meristem. Thislayer is sometimes referred to as the L-1 layer. As this layer forms theedge of the leaf and the petiole is also part of the leaf, in a monocotsuch as hostas the petiole expresses the same variegation. The color ofthe variegation in the petioles of the plant usually shows moreyellowing as the petiole is in a more shaded area and not as lighted bythe sun.

I claim:
 1. The new and distinct variety of the plant Hosta plantagineasubstantially as described and illustrated.